Scarlet Red
by cotederpablo
Summary: An undercover mission was what first caught his interest, and then Tony DiNozzo realised he didn't know as much about his partner as he thought he did. Naturally, madness ensues as they chase each other to win the other's heart. Rating changed to T.
1. Dress For Success

**A/N: I had this idea randomly, but it's a little similar to Last Man Standing (6x1). Set sometime in the eighth season when everything is resolved. This is my first real case fic. Let me know how I do, and please be kind! It could go for a few more chapters. I would eventually like it to evolve into Tiva. I have plans for once! Anyway, reviews are appreciated!**

"OK, so here's the plan," Anthony DiNozzo told Timothy McGee, suddenly interrupted by the ring of his cell. Ziva was calling him, finally.

"Ziva, where the _hell _are you?" he hissed.

"_Relax, Tony, I am on my way_," she replied from her car.

"You better be! We have to get a look inside this club if our suspect comes here every night! Are you ready? I mean, I know I didn't give you a lotta notice—"

"_No, you didn't. Luckily for you, I am always prepared."_

"Well, yippee for you, just hurry up!" he said sarcastically.

Tony snapped the phone shut. Earlier that day, they had gone to a local nightclub and asked around to see if anyone knew Stefan Branson, their suspect. A print of his had been found on the bodies of three Navy SEALs. Although he was particularly difficult to locate, he wasn't very good at covering up his crimes. The bartender recognised his photograph and said that he came every night there was a show. Now, their plan was to get Ziva in there to get a better look at him. During the day, anyone was free to come in and have a drink, but at night, only people invited directly by the owner of the club were allowed in. Either that or people who paid the five thousand dollars to join.

"McGee, you take the back exit. It's locked from the inside not the outside, so you can get in, but I have a feeling some of them still might be able to get out."

"It sounds so weird when you give me orders," McGee replied.

"Yeah, well Gibbs isn't here, and when Gibbs isn't here, I'm the boss."

"Why isn't Gibbs here again?"

"I don't know! All he said was that I was in charge tonight."

The two men were inside their surveillance van, waiting for Ziva to arrive so the plan could commence, and almost completely on cue, her car pulled up around the corner form them. Ziva honked her horn, signalling for McGee to go and guard the back door. He waved to her but could not see her through the tinted glass. She slipped out of the car and into the van, making Tony jump at the sight of her.

The silky, scarlet red dress clung to Ziva's body. It shimmered in the low lighting. It was long, past her knees, and had shoulder straps and a V-neck. She wore strappy red stilettos and her toes were painted to match. Her glossy hair, usually wildly curly, was now in thick, spirally locks that bounced on her shoulders. Tony was left speechless.

"Take a picture, it will last longer," she stated. At the sound of her voice, Tony remembered what he was supposed to be doing. He picked up a sparkling broach and tried to pin it on her dress, in the centre of the V-neck. She promptly Gibbs-slapped him and Tony pricked himself with the pin of the needle.

"Ow," he whined, clutching it.

She rolled her eyes and spoke to him in a puppy-dog voice. "Do you want me to kiss it better?"

He glared at her and she took the broach off him, putting it on the dress herself.

"It's a camera and microphone, designed by our very own McGeek."

"Impressive."

There was a silence. "You should go," Tony said after several minutes, handing her an earwig. "Remember to get a good look at our suspect."

"Why didn't I just wear the glasses for a camera?"

"Well, first of all, how many nightclub performers do you know who wear glasses? And second of all, aside from your face, this is where most of the guys will look."

He took this opportunity to prove his point and his eyes fell downward. She lifted his chin with her finger and leaned close to him.

"Having fun?" she whispered.

"As a matter of fact, yes," he replied calmly. "But you have to go." He was clearly hesitant to let her leave. "Do you have something you can lip sync to?"

Ziva bit her lip. "Lip sync, sure." She thought of the sheet music in her car. Maybe he would find it a pleasant surprise.

Ziva smiled contently as she left to enter the nightclub. It had been a challenge getting ready on time, but she had done it. Contrary to Tony's, and everybody else's belief, she actually did own a dress. Actually, she owned several. More than she cared to mention. She just didn't wear them very often, only on special occasions or something undercover like this. Of course, she never wore them to work. It was far too hard to run, and from what she had heard, Kate, the team's female agent before her, had made the mistake of wearing skirts to work numerous times, which often resulted in McGee's or Tony's head in the wrong place.

Luckily, she managed to convince the guard that she was a performer and was rushed backstage for make-up. A pianist approached her.

"Do you have music? I'll do my best to play," he said.

Ziva handed him her sheet music in a plastic pocket and he thanked her. When she finally was rid of the people crowding her, she made sure both Tony and McGee could hear her clearly and that Tony could see. It was an affirmative for both.

"Tony, if you see Branson get up, make sure you let McGee know so he can stop him."

"Sure," Tony replied. "Ugh, the computer isn't working. McGeek! Get over here, I need you!"

McGee rolled his eyes and jogged over to the surveillance van. "Here, I'll take the controls, you take the back exit. I'll tell you if our guy gets up."

Ziva's song inevitably began and Tony wished that he could see it. He knew that she was singing for real, he could hear her sweet voice, and quite frankly, hearing it through an earpiece wasn't enough for him. Oh, how he wanted to be inside. _Please?_

"_Tony! Tony! Branson is getting up. Get in there!" _McGee barked. Ziva was a little offended. She thought people liked her singing.

Tony barged through the door and into the bar area.

"_Wait, he's not leaving. Good improvisation, Ziva."_

Tony had no idea what McGee was talking about. He scanned the room and saw her twirling flirtatiously around him. A pang of jealousy ran through his veins, but he ignored it. Well, he tried to ignore it, but subconsciously his fists clenched up and he gritted his teeth. His face was now as red as the dress. He had the urge to run over there and break it off, but luckily he stayed where he was.

"_Go sit near him, Tony," _McGee told him. _"Make sure he stays until the end of the song. If he doesn't, then that means he has somewhere to be."_

Tony plonked himself down at the table next to their suspect's and was sure not to look at him.

"_Ziva, make sure to interacts with every guy in the room. There aren't _that _many. I'm just taking precautions here. I don't want it to look like you're singling him out."_

It was clear that Ziva did not like that order, but she did as she was told, quickly touching each man she passed, sometimes stopping. She hadn't finished her song and was yet to even go near Tony. Branson looked curiously over at him. He seemed to be enjoying the show, but disappointed that the singer had not approached him.

McGee's eagle eye picked up on this questioning stare. They would not take any chances. They could not lose any more men to this guy. Somewhat reluctant because of the possibility of revenge that might be taken against him, he gave Ziva one more order: _"Tony too." _McGee laughed. This would be good. But whilst amused he was slightly jealous. Of course, Ziva was his friend, and he respected Gibbs too much to break one of his rules but...she was _beautiful. _Then again, Tony had always liked her, and they did make a cute couple.

Ziva didn't have long before her song ended. She strolled over to Tony, acting like she was indeed having a good time, which she wasn't, and acted convincingly interested in him. She ran her fingers through his hair, stroked his cheek and even pulled him out of his chair and danced around him. Now Tony was _really _enjoying himself.

Before her song ended, Ziva made a quick dash to the stage and sang her final note under the lights. The crowd cheered. Only when McGee spoke to him did Tony realise he was still standing and he had his mouth open.

"_Now he's really leaving, Tony. Follow him."_

"McGee, he's probably just going home. Do we really need to follow him?" Tony replied in a low voice.

He didn't want to leave. Only a few times in his life would he ever see Ziva in a dress. And Ziva singing to him was even more of a rarity.

"_Where is this coming from? Look, wait until he goes outside, do not let him get a good look at you and follow him."_

Tony moaned and rose from his chair, tripping over the leg as he tried to walk away. People's heads turned in his direction. Now that he had gotten everyone's attention, he couldn't just slip out the back entrance. He had to leave through the front door. A waiter came to pick up the dishes of the suspect's table.

A burly guard stopped him at the door.

"ID please, sir," he said. This was bad. Their suspect was getting further away every second. He didn't have his ID with him, it was in the van.

"_I'll go," _McGee told him, getting up and leaping out of the van. But the suspect was gone. There was no car, no people on the street, nothing. _"We've lost him."_

Ziva approached the guard at the door, fighting through the small crowd of people and pulled her ID out of her dress.

"NCIS. Naval Criminal Investigative Service. He's with me."

The guard stepped aside and let them exit. They walked down the street towards Ziva's car.

"Where were you keeping that exactly?"

She just laughed. "So, you like the dress?"

"Do I really need to answer?"

"No, I saw your mouth hanging open."

"Yeah, about that—"

"Don't worry, it never happened." She opened the door of her parked car. "Come on, I will give you a ride home."

He frowned at this unexpected offer but accepted, and got in the car. The ride was comfortably silent, and whilst some might see this as a way for temptation to get the better of them, they saw it as quality time spent together, nothing Navy-related to worry about, except for their suspect being on the loose, of course. Tony pulled out his cell and started flicking through pictures, smiling and chuckling a little.

"Pictures of your girlfriend?" Ziva asked. The pictures were in fact pictures of her in her red dress. Tony was going to remember that sight.

"I tell you the truth Miss David, I am NOT looking at pictures of my girlfriend." He put the phone away, deciding now was not the time to look at the photos. There was another silence.

"You were good tonight," Tony told her.

"Hm?" she hadn't been paying attention.

"Your singing. I didn't even know you could sing."

"There are so many things you don't know about me, and most of them you will never find out."

"Like your tattoo on the inside of your thigh?"

"Tony, I was drunk!"

"Yeah, I have an issue with that too."

Ziva braked as the traffic lights turned red.

"You don't think I can have a little _fun_?" She looked him up and down.

"You don't seem like the 'fun-having' type."

"Oh, so you find me boring?"

"No way! You're interesting to say the least, I just can't picture you drunk."

"Yes, good luck with that."

"You know, you never told me what it was. The tat."

"And you're never going to know. Add that one to the list."

"Pretty please? You can make it my Valentine's Day present." It was February 13th, the day before Valentine's Day.

Ziva pulled up out the front of Tony's building.

"We're here," she stated.

"Aren't you gonna walk me to my door? Maybe a goodnight peck on the cheek?"

"Goodnight, Tony."

Tony sighed as he got out of her car and walked towards his apartment. So, Ziva didn't walk him in, but she didn't leave until she saw his window light up. He really was a player, but of course Ziva David would never fall for that. No, she had fallen for the brave, handsome, caring, gentle, crime-solving, funny, unique man that was Tony DiNozzo. But she was smart; smart enough to know that their circumstances would never allow a relationship between them. All they had what the mutual and unspeakable love they had for each other. They weren't breaking the rules, they were just bending them, and they had both learnt that from Gibbs.


	2. Tattoo

**Valentine's Day at NCIS! OK, counting down the days till our favourite crime-fighting team return to the small screen...September 21! I CAN'T WAIT! BTW I forgot to mention in the first chapter, this story is also meant to reveal some unknown or unexpected (and mostly untrue) aspects of Ziva. Just wanted to point that out before you thought I was making her too OOC.**

Valentine's Day: cheesy cards, cheap chocolates and sour candy hearts...great.

Ziva didn't understand the whole realm of Valentine's Day. It was pointless to say that people fell in love more on one particular day of the year than all the others, mainly because of the gifts exchanged. Of course, Abby's Valentine's Day cupcakes weren't bad, they were delicious, but she was sure that would be the highlight of her day.

She was in the bullpen, it was seven thirty, and she was surrounded by her co-workers. Out of habit, she reached for the Star of David necklace that normally hung around her neck, remembering it had broken and was currently being repaired. Tony was on a diet so Abby had just gotten him a card that said with a monkey on it that said "You drive me bananas, but let's never split!" Like Ziva had said, cheesy, but kind of cute.

Apart from the gift-giving frenzy Abby enjoyed each year, the day itself was laid back. No emergency calls, no nothing. The team did as much research as they could on their suspect, Stefan Branson, and McGee kept tabs on his cell phone and credit cards, but no hits. They found out he had been trialled for murder before, and had walked. So, they were dealing with a pro. The only thing abnormal about the day was that Ziva kept feeling Tony's gaze on her.

She wondered what it was. Was he remembering the dress, trying to picture her drunk, or imagining what her tattoo could be? Realistically, those were the most likely possibilities. She had only been drunk a few times in her life, and one of those times had been about eighteen months ago. She and Abby had gone out for a girls' night and things had gotten a little out of hand. Well, Abby and her crazy view of the world had gotten out of hand. One day, she accidentally let it slip to Tony that it had happened. But he didn't know the whole story.

The thing that no one knew was that she actually had a few tattoos. There was a gold Star of David at the small of her back and a small scorpion on the back of her shoulder, as she was a Scorpio. Also on her hip she had the Hebrew symbol for 'strength' in black ink. The one on her thigh, however, was simple, the meaning was not hidden; it was direct. 'I love Tony DiNozzo' in small black writing. Of course, the only thing to stop Abby from blurting it out to everyone was the fact that hers said 'I love Tim McGee', so they had a truce.

When Ziva woke up the next morning (which luckily had been a Saturday) with a headache and pains on her thigh, she was soon filled with a deep sense of regret. Things had gone a little too far this time for Ziva. But still, she had not had the tattoo removed and it still remained there.

Every so often, Ziva would look up from her computer and catch Tony staring at her again. McGee shot him questioning glares, but he ignored them. Finally, by the time Gibbs called it a day, she approached him.

"What is it, Tony? Why do you keep looking at me?"

He bit his lip, but did not answer the question. "Happy Valentine's Day," he said, placing a small blue box on the table. "I know yours is only being repaired, but I saw this and it reminded me of you."

Then he gathered his things and left, leaving Ziva alone to uncover her gift. She pulled out of the box a _silver _Star of David necklace encrusted with what Ziva was sure were diamonds. Immediately she fell in love with it, fastening it around her neck and feeling the cold touch of the unworn pendant. She bolted out the door, hoping to catch Tony before he left for the day, and was only successful when she reached the parking lot.

"Tony!" she called. He stopped and turned around. She halted about two feet away from him. The warm spring sun cast shadows on the gravel. "Thank you for the necklace. It's beautiful, but—"

"I know, I know, you're getting yours back soon. I just wasn't sure what to get you."

"You didn't have to get me something. I didn't get you anything, and I feel guilty about it."

"Ziva, just you breathing is enough for me."

Ziva had no response to that. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish, but no words came out.

"Keep the necklace, you don't have to wear it, just keep it, OK?" Tony told her reassuringly.

"I'll wear it. But only on special occasions, so even if you're not there, I'll have you with me." After reassurance from him, the words suddenly tumbled out of her mouth in perfect form.

"Does that make now a special occasion?"

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, mostly meaningless and harmless, out of gratitude. "Sure."


	3. Piano Lessons

**Hope no one cares, giving up on the whole 'case-fic' thing! It ain't for me, folks! So now it's Tiva all the way, and my plan is to reveal an unseen aspect of Ziva in each chapter. Just a bit of fun with her crazy character! Enjoy! BTW please imagine that Ziva's apartment was not blown up, because she goes through a lot of old stuff that she would no longer have. **

"Just over there, thanks," Ziva David ordered the men. She had considered this for a while, and decided it would be a good thing.

The two men shifted the piano against the wall and wiped their brows when they had it in just the right place. It did seem to balance the room nicely. Ziva farewelled the two men and ran her finger along the top of the old upright piano. It had been in storage for a few years now, and Ziva decided to finally bring it out of hiding. Of course, it had not been years since she had played at all, but years since she had played on these keys.

She opened up a cupboard with some dusty sheet music in a box. Books and books of it. She dug through it, trying to find what she was looking for, and accidentally came across a leotard. She had worn it to her ballet recitals when she was a child. Ziva smiled at the memory, which was somewhat marred by the fact that her father never attended. Because of her fitness and fighting skills, she was still as flexible and coordinated as any ballerina, just without the pink or the bun or the frills.

Finally, she found the book she was looking for, so she opened it up and placed it on the music stand, letting her keys drift over the fingers expertly, not out of practise at all. She loved to hear the harmonies, the high notes, the low notes, every part of the song and when it was over, she would play another. She always got so absorbed in the song, and almost didn't hear the knock at her door.

"Hey, Ziva," Tony greeted her cheerfully. She frowned quizzically. Sensing her confusion, he elaborated. "Here to pick up my DVD."

"Oh."

"I heard the music. I didn't know you liked to listen to classical stuff."

"Actually, I was playing it."

"You play piano? No way!"

"Yes, I have mentioned it but I think you were asleep at the time." The sentence had sounded a lot less stupid in her head.

"I've always wanted to be able to play."

"I could teach you."

"You'd do that? When can I start?"

"Now, if you'd like. I'll make us some sandwiches and we'll get to work."

Tony entered Ziva's apartment. It was so...homey. He instantly got the sense that this place was Ziva's refuge from the rest of the world.

He sat down on the sofa and Ziva placed a plate of sandwiches in front of him. She then pulled her hair out of its tight ponytail and let it run free and curly.

"I gotta warn you," Tony said with his mouth full. "I'm not a very good student. Maybe you'll have to punish me."

Ziva laughed. "Never going to happen, Tony."

After lunch, the two sat side by side at the piano, very close together as it was a small stool. Ziva gently lifted Tony's right hand and placed it on the keys.

"In music, there are twelve different notes, and they are named using the first seven letters of the alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F and G." She pressed his thumb down on one key. "That one is a C. Now you try."

Tony concentrated hard, poking his tongue out the side of his mouth for dramatic effect and pressed the C with his thumb.

"Now try playing the next few notes," Ziva said, playing from C to G.

"It looks so good when you do it." Tony tried to do the same, and ended up hitting a few keys at a time. He didn't have the precision that Ziva had. Ziva rested her hand on top of his, pressing each one of his fingers down individually. After an hour, Tony could play a C major scale with both hands. They decided to call it a day after that. Nevertheless, Tony stayed at Ziva's place until after dinner, which had been a tuna casserole. It was unlike they had expected to spend their Sunday, but Tony felt he was learning more and more about his mysterious Israeli partner every day they spent together. And what was learning was that he didn't really know as much as he thought he did.


	4. Workout

**A/N: Thanks for anyone who has reviewed or put this story on favourites or story alert! **** I hope you enjoy this chapter. I am really enjoying writing this story! And xoxocaroline, if you're reading this, thanks for your review on "Something about the Sunshine," it really brightened my day!**

Winter in DC made the morning air freezing and the footpaths were wet and slippery. This is why Ziva preferred visiting gym for her daily exercise. Well, it was only daily if she went home for the night, and sleeping under her desk was not unheard of when completely necessary. Just last month, they had to get some fingerprint matches and Gibbs refused to let them leave before getting a match. McGee was the first one to get a match, at four in the morning, after all of them had fallen asleep at their desks. There was no one at the office and they were all too tired to drive home, so Tony made up the 'Morning Awards' to keep them occupied.

McGee had been the winner of the drool award, after waking up with a small puddle on his desk, which Ziva had found very amusing. Of course, she did not escape unscathed. Ziva was named loudest snorer. Tony had been the star of the night, taking the worst morning breath to a new level after eating cheap chilli dogs for dinner the night before, and also worst morning _hair. _He practically had to soak it in water to get it to stay down. He had to borrow Ziva's hairbrush and hairspray.

Anyway, Ziva visited the gym most mornings for about an hour. She jogged on the treadmill some days, jumped on the stepper machine others, and was even known to take a yoga class. Today, she decided to keep it simple and ran a few miles on a treadmill. The sun shone brightly in the sky for once, although a winter breeze made the air icy cold. Dew sparkled and glistened like diamonds. Ziva's hair was in a tight bun and she was wearing a t-shirt, as she preferred a modest option rather than a sports bra, and short shorts. Her chunky Adidas trainers made her legs look even skinnier than they were. She ran an extra mile that day, as she was feeling extra energetic and also needed to work off the slice of chocolate cake she had treated herself to the night before.

She glanced around the gym, and people of all sizes surrounded her: bulky, toned men whom Ziva found quite unattractive for some reason, and skinny women built like twigs with bright blonde hair and hot pink sports gear, a few average-sized people who were a little podgy but not fat, and then some larger people who were perhaps starting a new exercise regime. In her part of the gym there were six treadmills up against the wall, and on the other side were the sets of weights. There weren't many people using them this early, yet she was shocked to see that two of them were her own friends and co-workers—McGee and Tony.

Gracefully, she leapt off the treadmill and jogged over to say hello. Well, also to make fun of them, but mainly to say hello.

"Ziva?" Tony said in surprise. "This is your gym?"

"Yes, it's two blocks from my apartment. What are you doing here?"

"Working out," McGee said proudly. Tony slapped him on the back.

"That's my Probie, out and proud."

McGee rolled his eyes and told his friends he was going to the bathroom.

Ziva's stomach grumbled loudly.

"Geez, Ziva, what'd you eat last night?" Tony asked.

"Actually, it's more what I didn't eat. I missed dinner, and then breakfast because I slept through my alarm."

Tony looked at the weights, then at Ziva. "Come on, we'll go get breakfast. I think we can afford to skip the exercise for just one day."

"Why not?" Ziva was just excited by the idea of food. Tony picked up his bag and the two set off to get breakfast, not realising they left something behind.

Breakfast was perfect. What made it perfect was the fact that it was also so very average. Tony was himself, Ziva was herself, and together, they were _them_. It was a relationship that was cherished by both of them, so delicate and precious, often needed tending to and one must do so correctly. Ziva ate three toasted sandwiches and a muffin, which she had been embarrassed by but she had been starving. Tony ate two and drank a Red Bull, then insisted on paying for breakfast. They argued but Ziva gave in and let him pay eventually.

An hour later, they were sitting at their desks at NCIS, Gibbs-less and, Tony and Ziva came to realise, McGee-less.

"We left McGee at the gym," Tony whispered, lifting his head from his work and looking worried.

"He is going to kill us," Ziva stated in reply. Tony laughed.

"Yeah, right. Come on Ziva, you could take McGee with one hand tied behind your back. Actually, probably with _both _hands tied behind your back and your legs tied to a chair."

"After walking for an hour to get here, I think even you could beat me, Tony," said a voice from the direction of the elevator. It was none other than McGee. He was still wearing his gym clothes, which were soaked from a sudden and heavy downpour that had hit town about forty minutes ago and still hadn't stopped. His hair was plastered to his forehead and his skin was pale white. His teeth were chattering and he was sniffing as if his nose was running.

"Well, if it isn't our own McIceberg," Tony jeered. "Nice of you to finally join us."

"Yeah, after you left me at the gym! Tony, my wallet, ID, weapon, cell phone and work clothes were in your car! Did you not even think this through at all before you and Ziva left?"

"McGee, I am so sorry," Ziva said. "It is my fault. At least let me go and get your things for you."

McGee agreed to this, and Tony tossed her his car keys.

"I'm trusting you with a very big responsibility," he said. "My car is very important to me."

"Where'd you guys go in such a hurry?" McGee said once Ziva was gone.

"Breakfast. What's the big?"

"Ooh, breakfast with Ziva," he said in a nasal, high-pitched voice that a ten-year-old might use.

"It was just a meal, Tim," Tony defended.

"Yeah, but you like her, and I mean more than a friend."

"So what? You like Abby more than a friend."

"Touché. Let's call it even. Truce?" Tim held out his hand.

"Never," Tony said in a bad French accent.

Gibbs entered the room at that point. "McGee, glad you could finally join us," he said.

"Boss, I—" McGee tried to explain.

"I know. When there's women and/or food involved, always blame DiNozzo. It's a knee-jerk reaction."

"Hey!" Tony said, pointing to himself. "DiNozzo in the room!"

"What's your point?" Ziva said, walking out of the elevator and over to McGee's desk with his things in her hands.

"McGee, go home, shower, change and be back here ASAP," Gibbs ordered.

McGee nodded, and then realised Tony was supposed to take him to work today. He'd have to call a cab. He did, but it smelled of feet and week-old burritos. _Just my luck, _he thought.

Back at NCIS, Ziva and Tony were snickering at what they had done to McGee, when they were interrupted by Gibbs.

"You two enjoy your breakfast this morning?"

"You know, Boss, it's rude to eavesdrop," Tony replied matter-of-factly.

"I wasn't eavesdropping. It's my new coffee place."

"Why would you get a new coffee place? You don't like new anything."

"The old one closed down, and now I have to teach some sweaty, oily teenager how to make my coffee the way I like it."

"That's a shame, Boss."

"Mm. So, breakfast?"

"Well, we ran into each other at the gym and well, one thing led to another," Ziva explained. Gibbs turned to her, wide-eyed. Tony read his mind.

"No, Gibbs, it's not what you're thinking. We saw each other at the gym _this morning _and Ziva hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday and I thought it might be nice if she ate something. Food helps brain function."

"Right, well, I suppose that's OK. Oh, and tell McGee never to forget Rule 3 again. I called him about eight times."

"Got it, Boss."

"Oh, by the way, Director wants us on stake-out tomorrow. There's some guy profiling marines at his house and tracking them down if they match certain criteria, specifically if they are newlyweds or recently had a kid. He owns a hotel in Georgetown. That's where he meets the couples. Basically, we need to wait till he leaves his apartment so we can search it. Local LEOs have had him under surveillance but he hasn't left in a week. They decided to call us. It might involve some undercover work."

Ziva and Tony exchanged glances. "Define 'undercover'."

**So, what did you think? It was pretty long. For the next chapter, I'm thinking the aspect will be Ziva's love for a man in uniform. I have a lot of ideas for this story. I'd like to keep writing it but hey, you guys decide. You like, you hate, click the button and drop me a line! Thanks.**

**-Superashy8**


	5. Man in Uniform

**Greetings, fellow NCIS lovers! Super thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story, love you all lots and lots! I got a few people saying how they were looking forward to this, so I hope I live up to your expectations. I plan to make it subtle, at first, and then a bit more exciting. But still, keeping it clean. Please review! It make me happy, and happy me means new chapters faster. **

"But seriously, who lives across the street from their workplace?" Tony did not understand why this man lived on the same road as the hotel he owned. "And why doesn't he just live in the hotel? I do not get it."

Ziva shrugged, not really listening to him. Gibbs walked in the room with a large bag of Chinese food.

"Hey, Boss," Tony greeted. "Listen, this guy really isn't going anywhere. Can we do something to get him back to work?"

Gibbs had clearly been thinking about this too, because he answered straight away. "Yeah, you can call him and make a booking."

Ten minutes later Tony was holding the phone to his ear pretending to be a newlywed Marine who wanted a little weekend getaway with his wife of two months, close to home base. Turns out this guy had a discount for Marines, but only if they came in their uniforms. He said he didn't trust forms and IDs. He sure was crazy.

"Come with your wife in your uniform tonight, and I will give you a great price on your room," he snarled into the phone. "I'll be there."

Tony hung up the phone and turned to Ziva. "Looks like we're married."

"Fine," Ziva replied calmly. "But one movie reference and we're getting a divorce."

Tony chuckled, but it faded when he turned to Gibbs, who had a rare mischievous grin on his face. He made scissors with his fingers.

Tony winced as he watched the hair fall. His hair, his poor, luscious, thick, beautiful locks of hair falling to the floor like leaves off a tree. Ziva felt the urge to tousle it, but resisted. Gibbs, with razor in hand, was enjoying himself. Tony examined his reflection in the mirror, and saw how short his new 'do was. He turned to Gibbs.

"I look like...you, Boss," he stated. Gibbs gave him an icy glare. "Not that that's a bad thing. But why didn't you do this, Boss? You're the one with the Marine haircut."

"He's just being safe, Tony," McGee answered for him. "Most newlyweds are, you know, young."

Icy glare. "Can you two act married?" Gibbs said to Tony and Ziva.

"We've done it before," Ziva said, shrugging.

"Yeah, but you were posing as someone else; assassins. This time you're just a Marine and his wife."

"Come one, Boss, it sounds as if you have no faith in us," Tony said.

"I do, believe me. And thank God I do, 'cause we both know McGee couldn't pull this off."

McGee pouted and Ziva patted him on the shoulder. "It's alright, McGee, you have other skills." It didn't make him feel any better.

_Later that afternoon..._

A newly shaven, washed and dressed Tony DiNozzo stood boldly in the bullpen, wearing his very own Navy uniform. Well, it belonged to Gibbs, but Tony was wearing, and if fit surprisingly well. He looked rather dashing.

"Tony! Ooh, you look so good!" Abby ran over to him and held up a camera. "Smile!"

Tony posed as the camera flashed.

"OK, now one with Ziva," she said. Everyone stared at her. "What? I wanna document this moment."

"Why?" everyone asked at once.

"Uh, I'm not going to say. You'll laugh at me."

Gibbs and McGee sat down at their desks, and Ziva walked circles around Tony. Abby walked closer and snapped another few photographs.

"Abs, why the photos? The truth."

"When you two get married, I can say this was, like, your first date."

Tony frowned, a little shocked. "I, uh, probably shouldn't have asked."

"Don't say I didn't warn you." And with that, she returned to her lair.

"When we get _married_?" Ziva asked, a little overwhelmed.

"I don't know either. I don't get how Abby's mind works."

"Just imagine it," she said, staring into space. "And the children..."

Tony stared at her, wide-eyed. "The children? Honey, I think you're getting a little carried away."

"Of course, _darling_," she returned the cute pet name and returned to her desk, as did Tony.

A man in uniform. Was there anything more attractive? Almost all her life, she had been surrounded by them, and of course, she had been taught to ignore the feelings, but she was still human. Always, she had had a little something for them. She didn't quite know what it was, something about the authority, the defined place in society, so sure about their professional lives. Whatever it was, she loved it, and right now, that was a good thing, because she was supposed to be in love with Tony. But of course, that was never that difficult.

A hotel room, two nights, and completely alone apart from the cameras, one of which, they had discovered, did not belong to them. The owner of the hotel was observing his guests, but with no audio. That they knew. But still, it couldn't help bring back memories, for neither Tony nor Ziva.

"Let's try to keep it clean this time, guys," McGee said, from MTAC.

"Yeah, Probie, whatever. You're just jealous that I got to sleep with Ziva and you didn't."

McGee snorted, and Ziva slapped Tony, hard.

"Just be thankful you're not a bellboy this time," Tony snapped.

"I think he looked kind of cute in the hat," Ziva said.

"Hey, you're my wife, remember?" Tony twisted the ring that he had been given.

"Yes, you won't stop reminding me."

"I have to; otherwise I'm afraid you'll cheat on me."

"McGee intimidating you, Tony?"

"Course not,' Tony scoffed. He threw an arm around Ziva. "Sweetie, we're in for a good weekend."

**I'll let you guys decide what happens next! So, did you like it? Please review! But please, if you hate it, be kind. **


	6. Girls' Night Out

**A/N: Sorry it took me longer than usual to update. I was hit with a lot of homework and then I was just really tired so I spent my spare time sleeping or watching NCIS on DVD (finally up to season 3 *squeal* the Kill Ari's are so good! I loved Tony picturing Kate as a school girl. That was really funny. And of course, as always, Ziva has good timing and a sure-fire way to freak Tony out.) One note: I know Ziva said she would "rather die than take [her gold Star of David] necklace off," but for the purpose of the story, blah, blah, blah, it's called 'fiction' for a reason, you know the drill! Anyway, I'm giving you my next chapter, and the theme is...girl's night out! I wandered away from the theme a little, and it's sort of centred around the whole team except Gibbs, though. Wow, that was a LONG A/N. I'm gonna shut up now. Oh, but one more thing: review...please?**

Abby loved when she and Ziva spent time together on the weekends. It didn't happen a lot, and all too often one or both of them were busy, but not today. This weekend, the two friends were going shopping on Saturday afternoon and later that night were going out for dinner at a bar.

Ziva didn't seem like the shopping type, but she was. She loved going into all the different stores and looking at things, but rarely did she buy anything. Today, Abby would make sure she did.

Store after store, they browsed around for hours, walking aimlessly through the bustling mall, people on cell phones and teenagers and mothers with screaming children passing by.

"OK, Ziva, we really need to get a move on," Abby said as Ziva examined a hand-painted china teapot.

"Hm? Oh, Abby, you know I'm not really going to buy anything," she replied.

"You are today. Come on, let's go!" She grabbed her friends' arm and pulled her into the store next-door. She grabbed things off the racks and shelves quicker than Ziva could even examine them. Then she shoved them into Ziva's arms and pointed to the dressing room. "Go. They're all your size."

Reluctantly, Ziva shut herself in the tiny space and put on the outfit Abby had given her, wondering how she had picked everything up so quickly. It was a plain but lovely black dress that came down to just below her knees with inch-thick shoulder straps that crossed over at the back, a black half-sleeved cardigan to match, a thick black belt and black ballet flats.

She exited and walked out to show Abby, who practically jumped up and down for joy.

"Ziva, you look so pretty!" she squealed, clapping her hands together like a four-year-old.

"You think so?" Ziva asked, looking down at herself. "I think it's too...young for me."

"Don't be ridiculous. You have the body for it, flaunt it babe."

Ziva couldn't help but laugh. "You really are too much, Abby," she said, looking at herself in the store's mirror. "Why are you so intent upon buying me a new outfit? Is it something to do with tonight?"

"Can't a girl dress up for once?"

"What do you mean 'for once'?" Ziva raised an eyebrow but smiled.

"Look, just buy the outfit, OK?"

"Are you trying to set me up with someone?" Ziva's suspicion was growing.

"What kinda question is that?" Abby pulled Ziva's hair out of its ponytail and let it free. "Straighten it," she commanded. "And wear it tonight." She grabbed a necklace off a rack. "This too."

"Abby, I already have a necklace," Ziva said.

"Come _on, _Ziva, you wear that gold necklace all the time."

Ziva clutched her beloved charm, which had been given back to her from the jeweller a few days ago. She gulped. "No, I will wear a different one." She took every opportunity she could to wear her beautiful silver necklace given to her by Tony. She simply adored it.

Abby insisted on paying for the outfit, as she knew that Ziva still wasn't sure if she wanted to buy it or not, but after looking at herself in the mirror for a few minutes, she didn't seem so reluctant. The Israeli farewelled her friend once she was given the shopping bag and arranged to meet her at the bar at six for dinner.

Of course, Ziva's suspicions had been correct, in the sense that Abby was up to something. She had a plan. It was small, and it might not lead to anything, but she had a plan and it would all play out that night.

Ziva stopped in at a cafe on her way home and bought herself a coffee and a muffin. She then sat alone at one of the tables, munching and sipping as she contemplated what Abby might be plotting. What could it be that she was keeping from her? She could only hope, what with Abby's crazy, scheming and sometimes unrealistic brain, this evening would not end in disaster. After that, she just stopped thinking about it completely, as she knew all too well she would have to wait until later to find out, and drove herself home to take a nap. Shopping often tired her out, and if she was going out later, she wanted to be full of energy.

Ziva's sleep, however, was not what one would call 'peaceful'. For several hours, she was trapped in some strange dream where she was at work, but then she was suddenly in different places all over the world, doing the craziest things. First she was skiing with McGee in Switzerland and he ran into a tree, then she and Abby were in a Broadway play in New York City, and then she and Gibbs were on a boat on the Loch Ness searching for the monster, and Abby had bought Gibbs a little plush Loch Ness Monster with a hat on and it made the same noise as her Bert the Hippo. Next she was in Hawaii with Tony, wearing a coconut bikini, hula skirt and flowers in her hair. That was when she woke up, and she had to admit, she had been a little startled by that last one. It sounded like one of _Tony's _dreams, not hers. Regardless, she got out of bed when she realised it was almost five and she had to get ready.

Ziva was ready quickly, after dressing herself and straightening her hair, letting it hang loosely around her, but pushed off her face with a black headband. As she gazed at her reflection, her confidence in this outfit faded. She still thought it was something far too young for her. Besides, it would be far too easy to see her tattoo in this dress. She decided to change it around a little, putting on a black top with the cardigan rather than the dress, and boots and jeans. She put her things into a small black handbag and examined herself once more. Now she looked acceptable. She hoped Abby would not mind.

Finally, Ziva added the finishing touch: her beautiful silver necklace. She wore it whenever she had an excuse. She just adored it so. She smiled as her mind was filled with the image of a smiling Tony as she fastened the chain.

Upon her arrival at the bar/restaurant, Abby greeted her warmly with a hug when Ziva reached the table she was sitting at. Abby had ordered them some drinks. Ziva noticed there were not two chairs at the table; there were four.

"Abby, who else is coming tonight?" Ziva asked.

Abby mentally slapped herself for not thinking this through. She attempted to improvise, knowing her chances of getting away with it were low.

"No one apart from us. I don't know why they've given us extra chairs," she replied. "Hey, you're wearing a different outfit!" She knew changing a subject would be a good distraction.

"I just...decided on something else. It has nothing to do with you, and I'm sure I will wear everything at one point or another; it just probably won't be all at once. Sorry."

"Oh, it's cool," Abby replied distractedly. She was looking at something behind Ziva. Before she could turn around to look, Abby yelled out, "McGee!" Ziva had certainly not been expecting McGee to come.

"Did you plan this?" Ziva whispered.

"No, I swear," Abby said.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" McGee asked casually. He was dressed in jeans and a colourful shirt and tan jacket.

"Where's Tony?" Abby asked. "I thought you said you two were going out tonight?"

"Oh, he's in the bathroom..." everyone's heads turned towards the door and Tony emerged through it, spotting his co-workers and practically sprinting over.

"Take a seat," Abby said.

"We'll have to order more drinks," Ziva sighed. Then, a waiter approached them with four drinks on a tray. Ziva laughed and gave Abby a look, but she wasn't mad. She was having fun already.

That was just the beginning. They had a few more drinks each, played a few games of pool, and eventually headed back to Tony's for a movie (which had obviously been his idea). They cooked popcorn and watched a horror film like a bunch of teenagers. Abby devoured the popcorn while watching wide-eyed, while McGee came very close, several times, to screaming like a girl. As a zombie appeared on the screen, with half eaten, decaying flesh falling off its face, Tony grinned as he watched Ziva gag, but not come close to being scared. That was one of the many things he loved about her.

One film turned into two, which became three, and before they knew it, it was three in the morning. They were all exhausted and Tony was kind enough to invite everyone to stay.

"Say, why don't the girls take my room and McGee and I will take the couches? Sound good?"

"Tony, that really is too kind of you," Ziva told him. He just shrugged.

Tony was up for another half hour organising everyone and by then, McGee and Ziva and Abby had all fallen asleep. Unfortunately, Abby and McGee had been talking and the couches were now occupied. Tony walked into his bedroom, which was still lit dimly.

"Ziva," he whispered. "Ziva, are you asleep?"

She turned over and the sheets rustled. "What's wrong, Tony?" she asked kindly.

"Abby's kind of crashed on the couch and I'm exhausted...do you mind if I...?"

She smiled. "I can go home if you like."

"No, you couldn't. You're way too tired and you're probably above the legal blood-alcohol limit anyway."

"Not by very much."

"Maybe not, but just to be safe, you should stay."

Tony slid under the covers and fell asleep within minutes, as did Ziva. As well as being extremely tired, there was a sense of comfort between them. Whether it helped them sleep or not, no one knows. What we do know is that Abby and McGee's snickering did not wake them up at six the next morning as they prepared themselves for the biggest prank ever.

**A/N: Curious, aren't you? Hehe, I am evil! Anyhow, I am busy this weekend but I may be able to write something Sunday or Monday night, but I'm not promising anything. I'm majorly busy. First week of holidays I am away, and unaware of the available Internet connections, as well as the fact that I'm spending time with a few friends who I don't see very often and there is catching up to be done. So basically, I may be a bit scarce for a while. I will, however, give you something to keep you going: the next chapter will be a continuation of this chapter in the sense that you will find out McGee and Abby's prank and there will be a birthday involved. Not saying whose it is! Anyway, please review and maybe I'll tell you some more!**


	7. Girls' Night Out Pt 2

**Hello, people! The next chapter is here. Again, it wanders away from the original idea a little, but I think that is what this story is going to do, hence I feel the need to change the summary all the time. This chapter is basically a continuation of the last chapter rather than a one-shot that shares a common theme. Enjoy!**

Not until almost lunchtime did everyone get up again. Tony had awoken at eleven to go to the bathroom, his head hurting and his memory somewhat hazy of what had happened last night. But he woke up fully when he saw who was lying next to him. He jumped and stumbled out of shock, but she had been awake for a while, and found this whole ordeal quite amusing. Of course, she had gone through a similar process earlier, but she wasn't going to tell him that.

When they finally made their way into the living room, they found McGee and Abby were already gone.

"What do you think they got up to last night?" Tony asked Ziva.

"Nothing, I hope. Those are very nice couches." She cringed a little.

Tony chuckled. "They were your choice. I didn't know you were such an interior decorator."

"I did do a good job," Ziva said, admiring the work she and Tony had done on his apartment a few months ago.

"I think you mean _'we'._ Want some breakfast?"

"I'm fine, thanks." Ziva grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl. "I better get going."

Tony's heart sank a little. "Oh."

"Thanks for last night, Tony. I had a lot of fun." She laughed. "I hope we can do it again sometime."

Tony just smiled and nodded as he watched Ziva leave.

"We didn't _do it _at all," he said to himself.

...

"Gibbs! Gibbs! You're here, you're here!" Abby's squeals were so loud they echoed through the squad room as she sprinted over to the elevator and throwing her arms around Gibbs' neck.

"Abby," he whispered to her hoarsely. "What are you doing?"

Abby stepped back. "Well, Gibbs, don't you know what today is?"

"Tuesday," he replied.

"And?"

He blinked at her as if to say, 'You tell me.'

"It's your birthday!" she exclaimed.

Gibbs glared at her in a way that he rarely did. "Abby, I don't want to make a big deal out of this. It's just another day, like every other."

"Gibbs! How could you say that? That's like saying a Thanksgiving turkey is just like every other turkey!"

"Isn't it?"

"No, of course n—...well, that was a bad analogy, but today is a special. On this day...a lotta years ago, a boy named Leroy Jethro Gibbs was born, and he grew up to be a Marine and then a Navy cop. What a guy."

"Abby," Gibbs said, bringing her back to Earth with another stare. "Shut up. Now go back to your lab."

Abby sighed. "Fine."

Gibbs walked over to his desk and saw his entire team looking at him.

"What?" he finally said.

The three looked at each other and decided in their heads that acknowledging the birth of their boss was probably a bad idea. "Nothing," they said together, scurrying back to their desks and getting back to work. Gibbs smiled at his team. Another year may have passed, but he was still as intimidating as ever.

...

McGee and Abby had trouble not laughing aloud at their greatness. Thanks to the fact that Tony always had a camera handy at his place, they had captured what they would consider the greatest five photos ever. Tony and Ziva in bed together, and they had the evidence to prove it.

"What should we do with them?" McGee said, almost drooling.

"I don't know."

"Maybe we should stick it on the inside of Gibbs' birthday card."

Abby was quick to Gibbs-slap him. "He will kill them, McGee. That is definitely too far. I'm not even sure I want to do this. I have no reason for revenge."

"Yeah, but I do. And you gotta admit, it's juicy gossip. You love gossip."

"Well, yeah..."

"Then what's the problem?"

"OK, you've convinced me. Now what?"

McGee bit his lip, unsure.

Ooh! I have an idea." She leaned forward and whispered in McGee's ear. His grin grew wider as she continued talking. This was going to be good.

...

Abby was swamped with forensic work from their latest crime scene, but McGee was sure she had a live video feed to the bullpen via his webcam, which was now pointed towards the plasma.

"So, these are the photos of the crime scene, the blood stains, bullets, the car..." Tony said in a monotone voice as he flicked through the crime scene photos.

"Here we go, Abs," McGee whispered, crossing his fingers.

"And these are the..." Tony's eyes widened to the size of tennis balls and he almost dropped the remote when that photo was displayed in front of the whole team. He and Ziva wrapped in his sheets. There were several movie posters hung on the walls that were visible. Gibbs would know it was his apartment.  
(A/N: Ignore the line please!)

Tony and Ziva were quick to catch each other's eye, and then, as if their minds were in sync, they both nodded. Tony gulped as he turned to Gibbs.

"Gibbs, I know this looks bad," he stammered.

"Oh yeah, DiNozzo, it's bad," Gibbs replied in a low whisper.

"But McGee and Abby spent the night together too," he said really fast as he clicked a button and a new picture of McGee and Abby. They had pushed the sofas together as neither of them were foldouts, and there was one blanket covering them.

"Oh no," McGee said in fear that a Gibbs-slap so hard it might give him a concussion was heading his way.

But Ziva took this chance to step in and stop things from getting out of hand.

"Gibbs, please, we can explain that night, I swear. We all went out for drinks and later we went back to Tony's place and by the time we had gotten through a few movies, it was late and none of us were really in any shape to drive so he offered for us to stay the night. The original plan had been for Tony and McGee to take the couches and for Abby and I to have Tony's bed but Abby and McGee both fell asleep in the living room. Nothing happened. The event was harmless fun and _fully clothed. _Well, apart from shoes, of course."

"You're all sure about that?" Gibbs asked.

The three agents all said "yes" in unison and at the same moment McGee received an IM from Abby.

"Abby says yes too, Boss," McGee told him, tapping the video camera.

Gibbs nodded and waved to Abby. McGee received another IM:

_Hi Gibbs! You're not mad are you?_

He shook his head at the webcam.

_Good. You know I hate it when you're mad._

"You three...uh, four, try not to make a habit of having sleepovers. I don't need a tired team."

"Won't happen again, Boss," Tony said with a little salute as Gibbs went upstairs to MTAC. Tony faced his co-workers once his boss was out of sight and said, "So how's Friday night for everyone?"

**A/N: it was a bit rushed, but I hope it was OK. I am posting this along with a short one-shot about the team which was previously my story 'Lockdown', which I have deleted and put in here. This story is becoming pretty team-centric so I am probably going to change the summary **_**again. **_**The chapter after that will hopefully be posted soon and the theme will be Facebook! In short, Ziva searches for her co-workers and finds some unexpected surprises.**


	8. Lockdown

**A/N: Just in case it wasn't clear in the summary, I know it's against the rules, but I decided to make 'Lockdown' part of THIS STORY so if you have already read it, sorry, but I have posted two chapters at once so hopefully you can forgive me. It's turning into a bit of an OOC team fic, and I didn't want the two stories to be to similar. Anyway, if you haven't read it, read it, and if you have, then um...sorry!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the DVDs. **

"We're going into lockdown!" Vance shouted. "There's been a major breach in security, and the CIA are here to investigate. They think there's a mole."

The entire of Team Gibbs turned their heads towards their Director.

"What can we do?" Ziva asked.

"For now, nothing," he replied coldly. "You three,"—he pointed to Ziva, Tony and McGee—"get Miss Sciuto from her lab and head down to the basement. The best thing you can do is stay out of sight. That way, they'll leave faster. Gibbs, you're with me."

The team did not move. They were too loyal to Gibbs for that.

"I mean it," Vance snapped. "The basement. Now!"

Gibbs knew they would stay until he ordered them to go, and maybe not even then would they leave.

"Go, do what he says," he commanded.

Reluctantly, and wanting to stay and help their boss, the team headed down to the lab and collected Abby, who was ready and waiting for them with Bert the hippo tucked under her arm, and then continued down to the basement.

The basement was a cold, concrete room and the team usually avoided it as much as possible. Fortunately, they were always prepared and had had a few sofas put in about four months ago, both foldouts. There were also blankets and pillows and a box full of...well, junk. A deck of cards, a tennis ball, a Whoopee Cushion, things that McGee assumed were Tony's as he looked through it.

"How long do you think we'll be down here?" Abby asked.

"I'm not sure. It could be a few hours, or it could be a lot longer."

Abby squeezed Bert the hippo, and he made his trademark sound effect. Ziva yawned, and Tony checked his watch, realising it was after eleven at night. Everyone had been in since seven, it had been a long day and they were all tired.

"Who's sleeping where?" Tony asked, not beating around the bush.

Everyone sat down, McGee and Abby on one sofa, Tony and Ziva on the other.

"We could go one for guys, one for girls," McGee suggested.

"McGee!" Tony was dumbfounded. "I am not sleeping with you!"

"Look, I'm just looking out for the girls, who probably don't want to sleep with either of us," he defended.

"Oh, Timmy, you know I don't care," Abby said, waving her hand in the air.

Everybody's heads turned to Ziva, who hadn't said anything since their arrival in the basement.

"You're all making such a big deal out of it," she said, "Sleeping is sleeping. I'm not sleeping _with _Tony; I'm just sleeping _next to him. _There is a difference."

"OK, well that's that problem solved, now what?"

Abby took a sip of bottled water that she had brought down with her. She let McGee have a sip too.

"Hey! I have an idea," she exclaimed, quickly guzzling the rest of the water.

"Abby, since that was our only water supply, I'm not entirely sure that was a very good—" Tony was cut off.

"Let's play spin the bottle!"

"You're joking, aren't you Abby?" Ziva raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Why not? It's a good way to pass the time!"

"But there are four of us."

She shrugged. "More turns for everyone. Come on!"

She put the bottle on the ground, made everyone sit in a circle and gave it a mighty spin.

"Abby, come on, this is ridiculous..." Tony began, but then the bottle stopped at him and he grinned widely. "Spin it again, Abs, what are you waiting for?"

Abby smiled too, and span the bottle. It seemed to spin forever, and Tony sat cross-legged and cross-fingered as it gradually slowed, past Abby, past Ziva and..._oh no. _His smile faded.

Abby let out a shriek, and Ziva grinned mischievously.

"No! Abby, no, I am NOT kissing Tony!" McGee shouted.

"The bottle has chosen you, McGee. It's fate. I can see it now"—she looked into the distance and made hand gestures—"_Welcome to the wedding of Timothy McGee and Tony DiNozzo.._.or better yet, _the McNozzo wedding_!"

"Come on, McRomeo, pucker up!" Tony said, as McGee faced the unavoidable and screwed up his face as he planted a peck on Tony's cheek, which he childishly wiped off immediately.

"You kiss like a girl," Tony said.

"OK, let's spin again," Abby said.

The next one was McGee and Abby, which everyone thought had been way too easy for Abby. Then McGee and Ziva, which Tony could not even bring himself to watch. Next was Tony and Abby, then Abby and Ziva, which the boys had cheered at. It was a simple, best-friend kiss on the cheek. Then finally, _finally, _Tony and Ziva were to kiss.

"Ha! I knew it would land on you two eventually!" Abby squealed.

"Abs, it had to," McGee told her. "It's simple statistics."

"Shut up McGee and let them kiss!"

For once, Ziva actually looked embarrassed. It had landed on Tony first, so he was the one doing the kissing. He leaned in and tried to make it quick, but his lips stayed there a second too long and McGee and Abby gave them weird looks. All was silent. Ziva had an unfamiliar longing to kiss him back, but she knew she couldn't. Well, at least not until the bottle landed on them again.

As the evening progressed, games were played and the night in lockdown seemed more and more like a kid's slumber party. The first thing they did was play a game of Truth or Dare. But it turned into just a dare game as no one ever chose Truth. They were all too smart for that. It was revealed, however, that McGee was a terrible dancer, and Tony couldn't last five minutes without fixing his hair after Abby purposely messed it up. Ziva didn't know how to do the Macarena and Abby could stand on her head for a long time.

Everyone rejected Abby's suggestion of playing hide and seek and they ended up setting up their beds at about one in the morning. But they didn't sleep. They stayed awake, remembering pastimes.

"McGee, how about that time we had to go through a pile of puke with a wooden stick?" Ziva said.

"Or the time Tony was on painkillers for his broken nose?" McGee replied. When they all laughed at the memory, Tony pouted a little. He did not like being made fun of.

"How about when we were on the Chimera and he thought he was gonna die?"

"You thought there was some kinda mystical creature aboard," Tony snapped.

"Yeah, and McGee was seasick. Oh, I almost forgot his fear of heights! It has amused us many times."

Now McGee was the one pouting. He had to think of a good memory to make fun of them.

"How about when you two were undercover married assassins?" he hissed.

They glared at him, and it was only then they realised how close together they were lying. They shifted awkwardly outward, and tried to forget, but they could do anything but. Then both of their minds flickered to Paris in unison. Thanks goodness neither of them had chosen Truth. As soon as the game began, both of them looked at each other and there was a silent agreement.

"I say we hit the hay," Tony said.

"Couldn't agree more," Ziva said quickly.

"Ooh, someone's a little keen," Abby said.

Tony and Ziva's eyes shot daggers at Abby and she backed off. "Sorry."

Their electric heater stopped working and the blankets just weren't cutting it on that cold night. Tony and Ziva lay facing away from each other, freezing. Ziva stared at Abby and McGee in the darkness. They were huddled up together, they were warm.

"Tony," she whispered. "Are you asleep?"

"No," he whispered back. Ziva fidgeted, trying to get comfortable. Her bare feet accidentally brushed against Tony's leg.

"Jeez, Ziva, you're _freezing,_" he said.

"I know. Sorry."

He chuckled. "Check out _Mc-Abby _over there." He emphasised his clever couple name for them.

"What does that make us? Tiva?"

"Tiva, that's cute. I like it."

"How do you think Gibbs and Vance are going?"

"I don't know. Why do you ask?"

She shrugged. "Just wondering."

He was quiet for a moment. "Hey, would you mind if I...it's just, you're cold and I..."

Ziva slid over to him. "Better?"

"Yeah." She lay facing away from him again, but this time they were huddled close, arms around each other. Silence was among them for about twenty minutes, Ziva fell asleep and Tony even began to drop off, but a distinct _ding _awoke him, but not enough for him to move.

"Good news, the CIA are gone...DiNozzo!" Gibbs shouted, not expecting to see what he had just seen.

Tony froze. "Yeah, Boss?"

"What are you doing?"

"Uh, it's cold down here, especially at night."

"McGee!" he shouted, even louder than the first time, probably because McGee's arms were wrapped around his would-be daughter.

"Boss! I was just, um..."

"All of you, go home, be back at 0800 for a fresh start and we'll forget this ever happened." Then he left, leaving all of them awake, even Ziva and Abby, who simply hadn't said anything or moved.

"That was awkward," Tony said, looking at McGee.

"I know he said we'll forget this ever happened but waking up in bed with one of your co-workers and just inches away from two more of your co-workers in bed and then having your boss walk in and see you isn't something that I think I can forget easily," he replied.

The four hopped out of bed and walked towards the elevator in pairs, Tony and McGee in front, Ziva and Abby in the back.

"Best night ever," Abby whispered to Ziva.

"Oh, definitely," Ziva agreed, giving her friend a discreet high-five. She didn't mind lockdowns so much anymore. In fact, if every lockdown was like this one, she might actually look forward to it.

**A/N: I know the whole 'CIA investigation' thing was kinda random, but it was all I could think of, so please excuse it. Now do your thing, press the button! ;)**


	9. Facebook

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, folks. As promised, the chapter is about Facebook (sadly but it was just a random thought I had) and after that it will hopefully get a bit more Tiva-ish. Anyway, reviews are good and if you're in the mood for something less cute then please read my other story, 'Choices' (Tiva Romance/Tragedy Aliyah alternate ending and mild McAbby). It only has two chapters but I am really enjoying writing it and I'm desperate for readers. Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or Facebook**

Abby Sciuto took a big sip of Caf-Pow as she typed away on her keyboard. She was doing nothing but waiting for Gibbs to ask what she had. It always happened eventually.

She pulled out her phone and clicked on the Facebook app to occupy herself. She had first created her account about six months ago, and it had been a lifesaver when it came to passing time. But of course as soon as it loaded, Gibbs entered her lab.

"Whaddaya got, Abs?" he grunted, handing her a fresh Caf-Pow.

She sighed. "Nothin', Gibbs. Nothing new, at least. All I can do right now is wait for AFIS to give me a match on the DNA sample you gave me."

Gibbs put the Caf-Pow in her refrigerator and left.

"Oh, and Abs," he shouted from the elevator. "Get off that Book-Face thing."

Abby rolled her eyes and put the phone away, staring desperately at her computer screen once more.

...

_I don't get it, _Gibbs thought as he waited for the elevator to stop at the squad room. _Why do people feel the need to document everything they do?_

Of course, he knew just who to ask for that: NCIS's resident computer geek.

"Tim," he called to his agent upon entering the bullpen. "Tell me about that website, book...face...space..." He could never remember the name quite right.

"Facebook?" Tim asked. Obviously he could.

"Yeah, that. Tell me about it."

"Uh, it's a social networking site created in February 2004, popular with both teens and adults. Why did you wanna know?"

"Why's it so popular? Is it really necessary to tell everyone you just went to the can?"

"Honestly, Boss, it's hard to explain. You kinda have to use it to understand."

"Fine, make it happen, McGee."

McGee was stunned. "You want me to make you an account?"

"Yeah, I just wanna know what all the hype's about. What's the big deal?"

"It's just very...unlike you, Boss. You're not usually so friendly towards technology."

Gibbs glared at him.

"I'll make it happen," McGee said immediately.

McGee got to work on Gibbs' computer. Facebook wasn't blocked because it could sometimes be a useful investigative tool for profiling. Although, it wasn't used much because murderers generally don't do a lot of social networking. McGee was still a little surprised that Gibbs would want a Facebook page. But an order's an order.

"There, Boss, all done," he said, about five minutes later.

"That's it?" Gibbs asked, walking over.

"Yeah. Your password is 'deadmarine1'. When you want to find someone, just search for them in this bar at the top of the page."

Gibbs spent the next half hour learning about this website. By the time he was done, he had completed a profile and even added a few friends. Since McGee had told him that 'Friends' were just people that you knew, he was now awaiting requests from Abby, Tony, Ziva, Fornell and his wife, and even Palmer.

About thirty seconds after Gibbs had sent a friend request to Abby, she had raced down to the bullpen in a state of disbelief.

"It's true, Abby," McGee had told her when he saw her.

"It can't be!" she had exclaimed. "My Gibbs hates technology! He goes through cell phones like I go through Caf-Pow!"

"Tim, could you give us a minute?" he asked McGee, in a rare polite voice.

_This day just gets weirder and weirder, _Tim thought as he left the room.

"Abs, I'm getting old," Gibbs said. "I gotta stay at least a little up-to-date with technology, otherwise I'll be too far behind to do by job anymore. Sure, I'm a real field agent; I can't trace a call or even work my email, but I have to accept the fact that we live in a geek's world."

"Oh, Gibbs," Abby said, hugging him. "It's OK, you're great at what you do. I'm proud of you for taking the initiative. And you're not that old. You can still chase a guy twenty years younger than you and you're a legendary field agent. Look at the way the others look up to you. Tony and McGee both wanna be just like you. You're the spine of this team, Gibbs, you're the glue."

Gibbs smiled at the Goth. She always did know what to say to him.

...

Ziva didn't go on her Facebook much. Just occasionally when she wanted to know what her friends in Israel were up to. That was her main reason she had gotten an account three months back. She was friends with Abby, McGee and Palmer, but none of them were friends with Tony, and when she asked, it turned out he did not have an account. He said he might soon, when he got around to it. It was one of those things that you do when there's nothing else, like cleaning out your sock drawer.

Today she was feeling bored and just logged in to see what was happening. She was surprised to see she had a Friend Request, and even more surprised to see it was from Gibbs! Of course, she accepted, and then visited his page to see if it was actually real. And sure enough, it was. There was his photo, and a small list of friends, which included Tony! So he _did _get around to it.

Ziva added him too, and then wondered just how many Tony DiNozzos were out there, so she searched him, and the result that caught her attention was a page titled: _Hating Tony DiNozzo. _It had almost thirty members, obviously ex-girlfriends of his, and it was created by none other than Jeanne Benoit. So this was serious.

The group's picture was a photo of him with a big red cross through it, and it said, "If Tony DiNozzo ever hurt you, this is the group for you!"

Ziva knew this was bad, but she didn't really want to tell him now, and she didn't know what his reaction would be. She decided to tell him the next morning, at work.

...

"Are you serious?" Tony asked when he heard the news.

"Yes," Ziva replied.

"Jeez, I didn't think I'd ever have to go there again. I knew Jeanne took things hard but I didn't think she'd go that far."

"She's not the only one who took it hard, Tony." She looked into his eyes. They were glistening with bad memories.

"Well, there's not much I can do. People have a right to an opinion, I guess."

"You are taking this pretty well."

He shrugged. "Hey, while you were digging around, did you happen to look in my photos?"

"No. Why?"

"You can find out for yourself."

And so she did. Tony watched the expression on her face changed as she looked at all his photos from Paris, including what he called 'his favourite', the picture of her.

She scrolled down and saw three comments:

**Abby Sciuto **aww, ziva looks so good here

**Tim McGee **good photography man, too bad u got stuck with the couch

**Richard Baker **dude, is this your girlfriend? She's hot!

Whoever this Richard Baker was, he obviously didn't talk to Tony very often. Tony saw Ziva's surprised expression and read her mind.

"I don't talk to Rich very often. We went to college together."

Ziva nodded and looked at the caption: _My favourite picture from Paris, Ziva looking at postcards. Maybe I should have been a photographer. Then again, I was working with a good model ;)_

"I'm a good model?" she asked teasingly.

"Yeah, well, it's true, even if I had had a few beers before I wrote that," he replied.

_Imagine what Jeanne would say if she saw that, _Ziva thought, cringing.

"What?" Tony asked.

"Nothing," Ziva replied.

As for the photo, Ziva didn't mind that it was there. It was a pretty nice picture, and at least it wasn't the photo of her in a bikini in California. Touch wood.

**A/N: So that's that! I know there wasn't much plot to it, but the next chapter will have more depth. I've already come up with a scene for it so I will get to work. Also I did want to say this: on the back of the S6 DVD, some poor photography there people. Vance's head is all u can see of him, and then Tony is slouched weirdly on a chair and is holding Abby's hand. Ziva is behind her and McGee is to her right. Ziva's hand is on McGee's shoulder and his hand is around her leg. Not happy Jan! No Tiva, no McAbby, and no Jibbs in seasons 3-5. Anyway, please review!**


	10. Halloween

**Greetings, Earthlings! It's been a while. So I kinda decided to ditch the idea I had for this chapter, and came up with a new one. Then I decided to scrap that idea and finally decided on a late Halloween present for you all. I lied about the depth—there is no depth and the story is just for cuteness anyway. Enjoy!**

"Miss Sciuto!" Vance barked from Abby's doorway.

She turned her head towards him slowly. "Director Vance," she said with a tight, forced smile. "How...nice to see you."

"I wish I could say the same thing," he replied, with a stony expression. "I'm here to talk to you about your attire."

"What's wrong with it?" Abby looked down at her outfit—her Halloween costume. This year she had chosen Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. She had the entire costume perfectly done, right down to the ruby slippers. She even had the movie soundtrack playing in her lab and a scarecrow with a cardboard cut-out of Tony's face stuck on hanging on the far wall.

"Miss Sciuto, while it is a very...elaborate Halloween costume, it is not standard company policy to come to work dressed like that. I insist you change out of it immediately. Do you have any spare clothes with you?"

"No," Abby replied, sad that she had to change after it had taken her so long to get this right.

"Very well, I'm sure Agent David can lend you something."

And with that, Vance left, leaving Abby very unhappy.

...

"It's not fair, Gibbs!" Abby ranted, pacing up and down the bullpen. "Do you know me how long it took me to get that costume right?"

"Abs, Abs, calm down," Gibbs kissed her cheek.

"That's it! We're having a Halloween party!" she exclaimed. "My apartment, tomorrow night at my place. Seven o'clock, and I expect you all in costume!" she shouted to the team, entering the elevator.

"We're doomed," McGee stated.

"What're you going as, elf lord?" Tony asked McGee eagerly.

"I'm thinking vampire."

"Ooh, you'd make quite a nice Dracula, Probie. What about you, Ziva?"

"You'll have to wait and see."

"I'm intrigued. Gibbs?"

Silence. None of them had seemed to notice Gibbs slipping into the elevator with Abby as she had left.

"You really expect me to be in costume, Abs?" he asked her.

"Yes! Just this once Gibbs, come on, for me?"

Gibbs sighed, knowing he was beaten. "Fine," he grumbled.

...

Saturday night approached fast, and Abby's decorations were as elaborate as ever. She was once again wearing her Dorothy outfit, and had hung plastic spiders from the roof. There were jack-o-lanterns everywhere, and a statue of a skeleton in the living room. She put out a few bowls of candy and chips and dip for a touch of class, then there was a knock at the door.

It was Tony, dressed in a tuxedo with a lot of gel in his hair.

"Hi, Tony!" Abby said cheerfully. "Who are you supposed to be?"

"Why, I'm Bond. James Bond," he replied, doing his best impersonation.

"Why did I expect any different? Come in."

McGee arrived just a few minutes later. Tony burst out with laughter when he saw his costume. McGee had painted his face with some type of white powder, then borrowed what he assumed what some of Abby's deep red lipstick, and had 'blood' dripping from the corners of his mouth. His hair was gelled back and he wore a cape. Last but not least, a pair of plastic fangs that could come in and out like a retainer. He wasn't scary, but he still made a good vampire.

Gibbs appeared next, and a silence fell over the small crowd. He actually had come in costume. He was wearing a brown hat with flaps on both sides and a trench coat and was holding a magnifying glass. It wasn't much, but it was a costume.

"Sherlock," Abby greeted.

"Dorothy," he said in reply, smiling.

"Did you invite Ducky and Palmer?" McGee asked.

"They were busy," Abby replied. "So we're just waiting on Ziva."

"Can I eat something?" Tony asked like a little child. "I'm starving." His stomach grumbled.

"You can wait till Ziva gets here," Abby told him firmly. "Besides, her costume is worth waiting for."

Gibbs watched his Senior Field Agent's eyes light up. "Really? What is it?"

"Uh-uh, Tony," she said, waggling a finger. "Patience."

"Can I guess?"

"Alright."

The three men thought for a moment.

"Fairy?" Gibbs suggested.

"Martial artist," guessed McGee.

"Ooh, maybe her costume goes with yours. Is she the Wicked Witch of the East?" Tony asked.

"I can tell you you're all wrong, although Tony, I almost wish we'd thought of that."

At that moment, Abby's phone vibrated with a text.

**From: **Ziva Mobile

_Outside. Play the music. :)_

Abby switched on her stereo and strange music filled the room as a costumed Ziva entered gracefully.

She was clad in beautiful opaque lavender material with elaborate lacy gold linings. She had no shoes on, and several gold bangles around her wrists and ankles. Her wild curly hair was free. The top was short, showing off most of her stomach, and she wore a skirtthat looked like it was simply wrapped around her waist. She was a gypsy.

Gibbs was speechless, although that in itself wasn't much of an achievement, but having McGee and Tony as well, that was.

She simply hugged Abby and walked over to the snacks table, grabbing a jelly baby and biting its head off.

Gibbs had a question for McGee involving his Facebook account, which he was still using, so that distracted those two, but several minutes later and Tony was still staring at Ziva.

"Tony, you really need to...Tony?" Abby tried to get his attention.

Ziva knew this was about her, so to irritate him she waltzed over to him, stopping only inches away.

"I take it you like my costume Tony,"

He gulped. "Yeah, you could say that..." Naturally, he was looking at her chest, and noticed she had her diamond necklace on, which these days never seemed to leave her neck.

"What? Did I spill something?" she asked.

"No, I was looking at your necklace."

She put a hand over it, almost protectively.

"You know, when I bought it I never expected you to wear it as much as you do."

"Then why did you buy it?"

He took a deep breath. "Diamonds are special. It's amazing when you find one, but you gotta make sure it really is a diamond, not just another sparkly stone. They're really valuable, sometimes priceless. They're the toughest substance in the world, but one of the most beautiful things this Earth can offer."

"You didn't answer my question."

He smiled at her. "Yes I did."

Somehow, he now possessed the ability to take his eyes off her body, which was looking pretty fantastic at the moment, and walk away. He needed a moment to regroup. After all, he had just admitted his feelings for Ziva. He just wasn't sure if she got it.

...

It was very late before the party finished, almost three in the morning. The boys had consumed a fair bit of alcohol, and so had Abby, but Ziva had stayed sober, as she knew someone had to. And she didn't mind.

McGee was going to crash at Abby's for the night, while Ziva gave Gibbs and Tony lifts home. Ziva kept quiet most of the drive while Tony ranted on about something. Knowing she had to properly thank Tony for what he had said earlier, after deep consideration and deciding it had been a metaphor, she deliberately dropped Gibbs off first.

Upon pulling into the parking lot of Tony's apartment building, Ziva pulled the keys out of the ignition and grabbed Tony's hand, squeezing it lightly.

"Tony, what you said earlier...I just wanted to say thanks. It was one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me."

He smiled lopsidedly. "It's just the truth, Ziva. You are special, you're strong, you're totally irreplaceable and, if I'm honest, the most beautiful woman I ever set eyes on."

Their eyes locked, the moonlight glittering in Ziva's, and they kissed. Tony ran his fingers through her hair and she did the same, enjoying every second. But then her head told her to remember just who this was, and she pulled away.

"Tony, we can't do this. You're my partner."

"You don't want me," he said, disappointed.

She placed a hand on his cheek. "Tony, there's nothing I want more than you, especially now, but we just can't do it."

"Why can't we? We're adults, we can live our own lives. What are you scared of? Gibbs?"

"Not Gibbs, it's just that I couldn't bear it if it didn't work out."

"What makes you think it won't work out?"

"We will move too fast."

"No, no we won't." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "We'll go on a date. Something fun, maybe bowling?"

"You mean with the pins, and the rental shoes?" Ziva asked.

"That's the one," Tony said, chuckling. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at maybe one? We can go get some lunch or something."

Tony got out of the car and walked into his building and Ziva drove away, in a slight state of shock. Was she really doing this? With Anthony DiNozzo? All she hoped was that Gibbs wasn't into ten-pin bowling.

**A/N: Yay, I got them together! A review would be lovely! Did you laugh? Favourite line? Anything? Well, I gotta sleep now. Later!**


	11. First Date

**A/N: Hello, everyone. Here is the newest chapter. It's fluffy, just a warning. I've decided that I'm going to do fifteen chapters in total, most of them Tiva now, but still cute humour/romance kinda stuff. Enjoy!**

Ziva David knew that today was going to be wonderful. A first date with Tony. She couldn't wait to see him turn on that famous DiNozzo charm. What she didn't know, however, was what would be an appropriate outfit. Of course, it had to be nice, smart casual, but not too smart. After all, they were going ten-pin bowling.

After countless outfits had been tried on and tossed aside, she decided on her favourite jeans (the ones that made her butt look good) and a plain black top, realising that it shouldn't really matter what she looked like if Tony really wanted to be with her, which she knew he did.

At five minutes to one, Ziva was doing nothing but waiting for time to pass. The clock ticked slowly, as if there were minutes between every second. She jumped for joy when she heard the sound of knuckles rapping against her door.

"Hello, Miss David," he greeted.

"Mr DiNozzo," she returned with a nod.

"Shall we go then?" he offered his arm to her.

"Yes," she said, coiling her thin arm around his strong one and closing the door behind her.

In the elevator of Ziva's apartment building, which was empty apart from the new couple, Tony let out a small laugh.

Ziva's head spun to look him in the eye, her perfume wafting towards him, and gave him a sweet but questioning look.

"I just can't believe we're doing this," he said, grinning.

Ziva pulled her arm out to rest her hands on his forearm. "Are you having second thoughts?"

Tony turned his whole body to face her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Ziva, these past few months, I've gotten to know you more, as a person; a woman, and trust me, I wouldn't do this to you unless I'd fallen absolutely head over heels for you. So unless _you're_ having second thoughts, I'm here to stay until you ask me to go, and even then I'll still love you."

"You love me?" Ziva asked, her heart racing. "Did you just say that?"

Tony cursed himself for revealing it to her like this. Of course he loved her, but he had planned to tell her over a romantic dinner, lit by candles, silver cutlery, that sort of thing. And now he had just said it in an elevator. _Real classy, DiNozzo._

"Yes, Ziva. I love you with all my heart and I will till the day I die."

She just looked at him. He watched her eyes, slightly full of panic, her chest rising and falling as she breathed.

"I'm sorry for laying this on you," Tony said, scratching at his scalp. "I didn't plan it this way."

"It would have been a big deal anyway, Tony," she said. "Regardless of where or when."

"You don't feel the same way. You wanted things to be simple, for us to take things slow and I've gone and dropped the L word before we've even started our first date. I've ruined everything."

By this point the elevator doors had opened at the lobby of the building but neither seemed to notice.

"Tony, I...I don't know what to say. No one has told me that before."

"Do you want me to go?"

"No!" she cried. "Stay with me. I do feel the same way, I promise! I did want things to be simple but I've realised that with us, being us, things will never be simple. And I love you, so much."

She stroked his cheek.

"Let's take a chance on love, Tony. Maybe this is moving too fast but I don't want to wait with you. Just hold off on marriage and kids, at least for now."

"You really think we can make it work?" he said, squeezing her hand.

"If I didn't, would I be here?"

Tony pulled his new-found lover into a strong embrace and as he pulled back from her, he gazed over her flawless face, not believing that it belonged to a woman that loved him.

...

After eventually making it out of the elevator and into the car, the two arrived at the nearby bowling alley, where Tony had insisted they would have a fun, simple date. Things weren't as simple as they had been that morning but there was still a chance for simplicity.

"I hate these shoes," Ziva said, walking over to a booth on the waxed floors.

"Your jeans are good, though," Tony complimented, admiring her butt.

Ziva walked over to a rack of heavy balls. Knowing Ziva wasn't much of a bowler and not wanting her to hurt herself on one of the expert balls, Tony tried to stop her.

"Ziva, those balls are for..." he trailed off when she lifted it with ease.

"That's right," she nodded. "And don't go trying any of your DiNozzo charm where you flirt by helping me throw the ball. I can handle it."

Tony was a little disappointed, but amused at the same time. "OK, go ahead."

Ziva threw her first ball. She had no trouble lifting it, but it went straight into the gutters. She laughed at her failure.

"Good, but your aim was a little off. Maybe you should try a beginner's ball, just to be sure you don't hurt yourself."

Ziva picked up a smaller ball. "Fine. Show me how it's done."

Tony came up behind her, one arm around her waist, one on the hand that held the bowling ball.

"Now, you just step back..." he took a step back and motioned her with him, "and swing your arm." He swung her arm and the ball rolled, slowly but surely, to hit seven of the ten pins.

Still being held by Tony, Ziva turned to him and grinned. "Wow, you are a good teacher."

"I sure am," Tony said, wrapping both arms around the Israeli and kissing her cheek. His head was now over her shoulder, facing the snack bar. A black man and his son were lining up. A shiver ran through Tony when he recognised the man.

"We have to get out of here," Tony whispered in Ziva's ear.

"Why? We just got here," Ziva replied.

"It's Vance. He's here with his son. If he sees us, he'll tell Gibbs and we—"

"Will be in trouble," Ziva finished. "Got it."

Unfortunately, the snack bar was right by the door, so getting out without being seen was going to be difficult. They couldn't wait for them to finish at the snack bar, because the only free lanes were to the right of theirs, so they would be sure to come over. They had to try and sneak out without Vance noticing.

They walked casually towards the exit and they were almost there when...

"DiNozzo! David! I didn't know you two were into bowling."

_Damn. So close._

Both of them turned around to greet their boss with an awkward smile.

"We aren't. We were just leaving," Ziva explained.

"Oh, I'm here with my son Alex."

The little boy waved.

"Well, uh, we better get going."

Vance just nodded, allowing the couple to leave.

"Think he knew?" Ziva whispered to Tony once they were safely inside the car.

"I'm not sure. Guess we'll have to wait and find out. Sorry we had to leave.

Ziva shrugged. "That's OK. It was kinda fun, sneaking around like that. But no more for today, let's go grab some lunch."

"Yeah, I'm starved."

...

"You wanted to see me, Director?" Gibbs poked his head through the door of the Director's office.

"Yes, Gibbs," Leon threw a file down onto his desk and stood up to greet the former Marine. "I've just noticed a drop in productivity the past few days and I was wondering if you knew why?"

"I don't know. Maybe someone on my team has a personal issue they're dealing with. I don't get involved in my team's lives."

"You should, you know. You mean more to them than you think you do."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Look, Gibbs, I want to make this plain: I think DiNozzo and David are seeing each other."

"And what makes you think that?" Gibbs cocked his head to one side, challenging the person who would suggest that his team members would be disobedient.

"They were together at a bowling alley on Saturday trying to sneak out when they saw me. But I saw the whole thing. There was definitely a hug or two in there, if not something much more."

Gibbs bit the inside of his cheek. "Thanks, Leon, for that valuable information. I think I'll have a word to those two."

Gibbs turned to leave, as Vance said to him, "Take it easy on those two, Gibbs. They're credits to the agency. Besides, the heart wants what the heart wants."

Whatever the heart wanted, Gibbs' hands wanted nothing more than to be tightening around DiNozzo's neck.

**A/N: So...little cliff hanger for you there. I would love it if you reviewed!**


	12. Romance

**A/N: Hey, everyone! Just wanted to say thanks a million for the reviews! I can't believe how far this story has come and you have all been so encouraging. I love you all!**

**So anyway, for this chapter...it's super fluffy. Consider yourself warned.**

Alone in the dark bullpen sat Tony DiNozzo, who was uncharacteristically staying late to finish a case report. But he wanted to get it finished now, and hopefully enjoy a peaceful weekend with no work.

He had planned to ask Ziva out for dinner, but she had gone home two hours ago, saying she was tired, and had told Tony she would call him tomorrow.

Gibbs was going to wait until Monday to kill the two of them, because he had learned in his many years that he often made bad decisions when at the height of his anger.

Tony typed the last few letters of his report, read it over, printed it and placed it on Gibbs' desk.

_There. _

Happy to be done, he grabbed his keys and walked cheerfully into the elevator, out of the building and into the cold night. He was probably going to turn in early tonight; he had nothing better to do, after all.

It felt good to push the key in the lock and hear the little gears turning. It was the sound that meant he was home. The week had been unusually tough, with a pretty bad case to crack as well as his growing desire for his new girlfriend hitting him full in the face any time contact was made.

But something was wrong.

The first thing that hit him was that the apartment wasn't completely dark. He usually turned all the lights out when he left in the morning but there was a golden light coming from somewhere.

The second thing was the unmistakable smell: the scent of Italian cooking. He recognised it all too well. He definitely wasn't alone in this apartment.

Cautiously, he pushed the door open, and the sight that met his eyes as he did so was too much.

A table set up in the middle of his living room, a chair on each end. Two bowls of exquisitely presented spaghetti Bolognese sat in front of the chairs, steam wafting from them. There was silverware and a bottle of wine, and to top it all off, a large candle in the middle of the display.

As beautiful as it was, Tony's attention was focused on something else.

The candlelight made her skin glow and her magnificent brown eyes sparkle. They even outshone the diamonds on the star around her neck. Her hair was straight and shining in the light. But what made the agent's blood run high more than anything was that dress.

That scarlet red dress.

It fit her more perfectly than the first time he had seen her in it.

Ziva.

"Surprise," she said softly, smiling.

His eyes travelled over her red-clad body, appreciating every inch it.

Only one word could pass through his lips: "Wow".

"I knew you would like it," Ziva replied, blushing a little.

Tony slid his arms around her slender waist and kissed her passionately. Her hands went to his cheeks and she responded with equal passion. She pulled away for a second and licked her lips, savouring the taste of him.

"Do you want to skip dinner?" she asked suggestively, running her hands down his strong arms.

It took everything Tony had to resist the look in her eyes. As much as he loved Ziva's idea, he wanted to see the dress on her rather than in a crumpled heap on his bedroom floor.

"No," Tony told her, looking to the food. "You must have worked so hard to put all that together. And it smells delicious, it really does."

They both pulled up a chair and dug into the meal. Ziva had to appreciate just how nice it tasted. She certainly had a knack for cooking. The tastes danced on her tongue, complimenting each other perfectly.

"So," Tony began as he poured Ziva some wine. "What happened to tired Ziva?"

"She wanted to be with you," Ziva replied honestly.

"You could have just told me."

"I could have," Ziva rested her hand on her chin. "But then we would both be in sweatpants watching a movie and eating pizza. I thought this would be more romantic."

"Well, you thought right," Tony said, his emerald eyes gleaming with happiness. "So, what are our plans for this weekend?" He shoved another forkful of food into his mouth.

"Whatever you want to do," Ziva replied. "I do not mind."

"_Whatever _I want to do?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Well, that depends." Ziva pushed her plate aside, as she was finished. "What did you have in mind?"

Tony had not expected that response. Luckily he had just the answer for it: "Page 57."

Ziva frowned at first, trying to figure out what he meant. Then she remembered. The magazine. On her very first day at NCIS.

"I always thought that was an urban legend," she said, quoting him.

He chuckled. "Me too, until a certain Israeli friend of mine said that it works every time. Sure would like to test that theory sometime."

Tony winked at her.

...

The sun awoke them both the next morning, as Tony had forgotten to close the curtains.

"Morning," Ziva said with a yawn.

"Good morning, Ziva," Tony replied cheerily.

"Why are you so happy?" she asked, sitting up a little and realising Tony's arm had been around her.

"Well, you know I'm not one to kiss and tell, but I slept with a beautiful girl last night." Tony kissed his girlfriend's hair.

"So how did you like Page 57?" she asked, tingling at his touch.

"I think you're right. It does work every time."

"I could always tell what you were thinking."

They were interrupted by Tony's phone ringing.

"Hello?" he answered happily.

"_TONY!" _came a shout through the phone. It was Abby. _"Where are you?"_

Tony sat straight up in bed. "Were we all supposed to have brunch today?"

"_No, I'm just calling to yell at you for no reason. Of course we were!"_

"OK, Abs, chill. I'll make it up to you. We'll go out for drinks, everyone. Even...Gibbs, although I know he doesn't get out much."

"_But this was special. I got up really early this morning to cook all the food and I even handed out invitations and you and Ziva say you'll be there and then you just forget?"_

"I'm really sorry, Abs."

"_Do you know where the hell she is?"_

"Do I know where who is?"

"_Ziva!"_

Tony turned to his girlfriend in bed next to him, who had a very curious look on her face. "Not a clue," Tony told the Goth, laughing a little.

"_What was that?" _Abby asked, recognising the laugh. It was the kind of laugh you get when a six-year-old is about to pull a prank on you. They think they're smarter than you are.

"What was what?" Tony replied in question, playing dumb.

"_Is Ziva with you?"_

Ziva was in fact now listening with her against the speaker. When she heard this she mouthed the word 'no' and shook her head, eyes wide.

"Nope, I'm all alone. Look, we'll go out for dinner tonight, invite McGee and Gibbs."

"_Sorry, can't. I'm busy_." Abby was just getting revenge now.

"What about Gibbs and McGee?"

Abby looked at the two men at her table in her apartment. _"Uh, well, I'm sure Gibbs has some boat-building to catch up on and McGee...is going to a Star Trek convention." _Abby cursed herself for not being able to think of a better lie. _"Goodbye, Tony."_

Tony sighed. "See ya Monday."

"A Star Trek convention? Really?" McGee asked, knowing he would really pay for that one.

"I'm sorry, Timmy." Abby bit her lip.

"Are you gonna try and call Ziva?" Gibbs asked.

"Nah," Abby said, stabbing her meal with the fork she now held in her hand. "If she was gonna some she would have come by now, right? I'll just ask her on Monday."

...

"Phew," Tony said as he hung up the phone. "That was a close one."

"But you don't think she's onto us?"

"I don't think so." Tony sighed again, happily this time. "Man, last night was good."

"Yes, it was...enjoyable." She paused. "I like not having secrets with you, Tony." She hated to be all sentimental, but she meant it.

"Mm. Speaking of secrets, don't think I didn't notice that tat on the inside of your thigh."

Ziva couldn't help but laugh. She had been waiting for this moment.

"I guess drunk Ziva really does do some crazy things."

"Well, obviously. I mean, I slept with you last night, didn't I? How much wine did you give me?"

Tony just grinned.

"So," Ziva fingered Tony's chest hair. "What do you want to do now?"

"I don't know," he replied. "Why don't you tell me what was one Page 58?"

**A/N: So, um, a little bit random but there you have it. So far, Gibbs and Abby both have some business to settle with the two, so let's see how they handle it.**

**Anyway, I have a very vague idea on what I want to do but my ideas for the last chapter are scarce and I could really use your help. So if you have any suggestions please tell me in a review!**


	13. Revelations

**A/N: I know, I haven't updated in FOREVER. I'm sorry! Just a note: change of plans, there will be 13 chapters instead of 15. I feel bad now! So this is your second-last chapter. I will be sad to see this story go, but I feel as if it's an appropriate length. BTW you might want to reread the previous chapter as this one picks up where it left off.**

A very pleasant change to their schedules, Tony and Ziva slept for most of the morning.

Well, they stayed in bed for most of the morning.

Tony awoke to Ziva sleeping somewhat peacefully; she was still snoring a little but it wasn't as bad as it used to be.

His hand easily found hers but he wasn't aware that it would pull her from her slumber. She groaned and rolled over.

"Morning, Tony," she yawned.

"And what a good one it is," he replied, smiling.

"I had such a good time last night…and this morning."

"Yeah, it was pretty memorable," Tony said.

"_I'll clear the table," Ziva said, first taking her own dishes into the kitchen then coming back for his. She deliberately leant over his shoulder so he could get a whiff of her shampoo and perfume. To Tony, the scent was intoxicating. _

_But he was afraid to go too far too fast with Ziva. After all, this relationship meant too much to both of them to lose it like this. _

_After the drama of the Vance incident, they went out to lunch. It was…awkward. This was their first date, but not like a first date at all because they'd known each other for years. The only thing to discuss was where they went from here, as they both knew how strongly they felt about each other. They were both still adjusting to being with each other on a new level. This dinner was the first time Tony thought things might actually go a little further._

_All he wanted to do right now was kiss her, feel her soft skin, run his fingers through her hair, but he wouldn't dare do it until he was sure she was ready. Although, going by the signals she had been giving him, she was pretty close to ready._

_Tony stood to go help her with the dishes. He admired her figure from behind, and once again felt his heart beat a little faster at the sight of her in the dress. _

"_You look beautiful," he said softly, walking up behind her and placing hands on her shoulders. She smiled at his touch._

_Ziva turned to face him and, in her heels, she was the same height as he was. They were close, and she could feel the cool breeze of his breath against her neck. She gazed at him, eyes filled with burning desire and whispered, "Kiss me, Tony." _

_And kiss her he did._

It wasn't a surprise that Ziva had been just as much of a ninja in the bedroom as she was in the field, but Tony certainly wouldn't say that to her face if he wanted to ever feel pleasure again.

"So, what are we going to do about Abby?" Ziva asked, changing the subject to a priority before they lost the ability to keep their hands—and mouths—off each other.

"We did kinda ruin her brunch," Tony replied. "Like I told her, we'll all go out for drinks. Tomorrow night."

"Better go shower, then," Ziva said. "It's already eleven. I don't think I've ever slept that late."

Tony sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Would you care to join me?"

"Normally I would say yes, but if we are going to be seeing the team you do not want to be smelling like my perfume." She winked.

Ziva called everyone while she waited for Tony to finish in the bathroom. McGee was free and also stressed that he was _not _going to a Star Trek convention. Abby was very annoyed at Ziva but didn't seem too suspicious, and agreed when Ziva promised to buy her another Chocoholic's Choice cupcake. Gibbs didn't answer his phone so he was obviously not in a social mood. Although, was Gibbs ever in a social mood?

…

Tony and Ziva spent the night apart, not wanting to make it too much of a routine as they would not get to do it all that often. After all, they had not told anyone yet that they were dating. As Ziva tried to find sleep in her all too empty bed, she kept thinking about her night with Tony.

_Ziva moaned as she felt Tony's tongue enter her mouth and she shut her eyes. She wanted more. Her fingers worked the first few buttons of Tony's shirt before he pulled away. She moved her lips to find his again and when she instead felt his fingers she opened her eyes again._

"_What's wrong?" she asked._

"_Are you sure you're ready?" Tony asked worriedly. "I don't wanna screw this up."_

_She smiled. "I'm not a little girl, Tony."_

"_I just don't wanna see you get hurt."_

_She ran her fingernails gently down his neck. "It's sweet of you to worry, Tony," she said, leaning towards his ear to whisper, "But now is not the time to be sweet." And with that, she once again captured his lips in a kiss, and did not let go for a long time._

_She continued working on the buttons of his shirt and he noticed a zip along her thigh. He unzipped it all the way to her hip, pulling away for a second when it got a little stuck, and stopping completely when he spotted some dark markings on her skin._

_Her tattoo._

"_Go ahead, Tony," Ziva whispered. "Look."_

_He saw the writing and kissed her again. _

"_So, all this time…" he whispered through kisses._

"_Uh huh," she confirmed. _

"_Any other tattoos I should know about?"_

"_Why don't you find out for yourself?"_

…

The next day, both Tony and Ziva arrived at the bar early to a) discuss a plan and b) avoid any possible Abby-dramas. They both knew she was still upset about the brunch.

The Goth walked in the door of the bar/restaurant at five sharp, as agreed.

"Hello, Abby," Ziva greeted.

"Hey, Abs," Tony said.

Abby said nothing.

"A drink for the lady," Tony told the bartender, pointing to Ziva, who smiled. Abby sent a glare his way. "Ladies," he corrected himself.

"Are you going to apologise?" she asked, and rather loudly too. "You hurt my feelings!"

"I know, Abby," Ziva said. "And we are sorry."

"Won't happen again," Tony added.

"It better not." Abby paused for a moment, and the other two hoped the conversation was over. "It's just not like you guys! Ziva, you're never late for _anything. _Neither are you, Tony! I mean, I'd understand if it was traffic or something but you would have called and the only other reason I can think of is if you were with someone and we all left work really late Friday so I knew you wouldn't be with…anyone…"

"Abby…" both of them said in unison.

She looked at them with suspicious eyes as McGee entered the building.

"Nice of you to join us, Probie," Tony greeted warmly.

With a smile, McGee sat down next to Abby at the bar.

"You want a beer, Tony?" he asked, pulling two twenties out of his wallet. When the Senior Field Agent nodded, Tim held up two fingers to the bartender and slapped the bills on the counter.

"So, what are we talkin' about?" the geek asked cheerfully.

"Abby was just eyeing us creepily," Tony replied.

"Was it about the brunch?"

"We apologised!" Ziva defended.

"Why weren't you there, though?"

"We just sorta…forgot," Tony stammered.

McGee scoffed. "Yeah, right. What's really going on?"

Before Tony could make up a lie, he saw McGee's attention focus on something behind him. Tony turned to see what it was.

"Boss," McGee said.

"I thought you weren't coming," said Tony, sounding a little nervous at the serious expression on Gibbs' face.

"Hi Gibbs," Abby smiled before wiping it off her face and turning to the couple in question. "So, _where were you_?" The Goth was clearly losing her patience.

"We were…" Ziva began.

"So you were together!" Abby exclaimed.

_Crap. _Ziva thought. _This is not good._

"We…uh…" Tony tried to interrupt.

"What were you doing, Tony?" McGee asked slyly.

The idea that they had been watching a movie passed through his mind, but it was rejected as it was far too date-like and no one watches movies at ten in the morning.

"I was helping Ziva fix her car!" he blurted out.

Ziva looked at him. That actually wasn't a bad lie.

"Yes…my car wouldn't start and from previous experiences mechanics are far too slow so I called Tony and asked if he would help. I guess we just lost track of time," Ziva elaborated. She was good at thinking on her feet. Well, since she was sitting down, _off _her feet.

Abby seemed to buy it. So did McGee. But Gibbs…Ziva couldn't quite shake the feeling that he was onto them.

About ten seconds of awkward silence later, Tony announced that he was going to the bathroom. Gibbs followed him, muttering, "Me too," as he walked away from the group.

When Tony saw his boss enter the restroom, he tried to finish as quickly as he could, as he too had seen the suspicion on the older man's face.

"So, DiNozzo," Gibbs said. "Didn't know you were into bowling."

Tony froze. _OK DiNozzo, relax, _he told himself. _He might be bluffing. If you tell Gibbs everything now, Ziva's gonna kill you. But if you lie to Gibbs, he's gonna kill you._

His subconscious had a point. He was stuck between a rock and a bigger rock. But the small rock was covered in poisonous snakes.

"What?" was all he was able to choke out.

"Vance told me everything. You, and Ziva, at the bowling alley, trying to sneak out without him noticing."

"Boss, I—"

"Were ya plannin' on tellin' me, DiNozzo?" Gibbs said angrily. "I'm like the only family that girl's got and if you hurt her, I swear to God I will slap you so hard you won't be able to remember your own name, got it?"

"I think you're forgetting which girl you're talking about here," Tony replied calmly. "Ziva's a big girl; she can make her own choices and fight her own fights."

"You be good to her, understand?" Gibbs said in a lower voice. "She's been through hell."

"I know," Tony replied. "And I will be good to her, Gibbs. Are we good?" He held out his hand.

Gibbs grasped it and shook firmly. They were good.

When both men returned to the bar area, Abby was choking Ziva in a hug.

"Nice work, Tony," McGee complimented raising his beer to him. "Didn't think you had it in you."

"Had what in me?" Tony asked, confused.

"Congratulations!" A once again peppy Abby flung her arms around Tony's neck. Over her shoulder, Tony looked at Ziva.

"Once Gibbs had you in there I figured we were screwed," the Israeli confessed.

"Abs…need…air," Tony choked. Abby released her grip.

"I am so sorry you guys! If I had known you two were having fun time I never would have interrupted!"

Gibbs smiled as uncomfortable expressions formed on his agent's faces.

"Who wants another beer?" Tony asked. "On me."

Everyone except Ziva, who claimed she was satisfied with lemonade for now, raised their hands.

"A toast," Tony stood up, holding up his beer bottle and snaking an arm around Ziva's waist. "To my super ninja girlfriend. I love you."

Abby giggled and they all raised their bottles too. "To Ziva," she and McGee said.

Tony went to kiss her on the cheek but she turned her head just in time for it to land on her lips.

Abby just thought it was so sweet. And it was even sweeter when she felt a hand grasp hers. It was McGee, who was grinning at her. She grinned back and ever so lightly pecked his cheek, leaving a lipstick mark.

Gibbs raised his bottle again, alone in his actions this time. He looked around at the younger members of the team and saw the love in their eyes. He hated to admit it, but sometimes he was lonely. He had been married four times and been in quite a few relationships (not as many as DiNozzo of course but he hardly thought they could be classified as relationships), and yet he and only loved three times: the first was Shannon. She was beautiful and smart and loving, and he thought they would be together forever. His second love was little Kelly, who he thought was just the cutest little girl in the world and such a free spirit. After they died, everyone else felt like a mere consolation prize. That was, until he met Jenny. She was poised, elegant, a quick learner, professional yet friendly, and when she fell she fell hard. She taught him to love again.

Gibbs closed his eyes and drank in silence as he mourned his lovers, like he did every single day.

**A/N: How was that for an update? I think it was OK…I had a lot of difficultly writing it, but I'm glad I got it done and it was really quite long. Please review and hopefully the last chapter will be out soon!**


	14. Moments In Time

**A/N: Final chapter is here! It's more like an epilogue than a chapter…but you get the point. I know originally it was supposed to be longer but I just felt like it was better to leave it here. **

When asked a simple question, one should be able to give a simple answer.

Tony DiNozzo believed that.

When asked who the love of his life was, he would always say Ziva.

When asked what his dream job was, he would always say working at NCIS.

When asked to pay McGee back the forty dollars he owed him, he would always say no.

But those were the simple questions. The not so simple? He could never quite figure it out. Which hadn't really been a problem until now.

"When did you know you loved her?"

Tony looked down to his daughter, Eliza. She was so beautiful, and only seven. She had her mother's hair and beautiful olive skin, and her brilliant green eyes, she had inherited from him. She only had one front tooth and always had scabs on her little knees, but Tony knew she was the most wonderful daughter in the whole world.

But he couldn't give her an answer.

He could say when he first laid eyes on her, but back then she had been the enemy. Yes, she had been striking and beautiful, but she was Ari's control officer and, he would later find out, half-sister.

He could say when they went undercover together but that story was hardly appropriate for a seven-year-old. Besides, even when she was old enough to hear it, she probably wouldn't want to.

Maybe when the team were split up, and they didn't see each other for months. After a while, she was all he could talk about. One of his friends, Marcus, got an earful almost every night. He remembered feeling a smile light up his face when he saw her.

When she was gone, he was a wreck. He missed her so much, and to make matters worse, she hated him enough that she didn't even trust him anymore. And in Somalia, in that dirty little cell when they laid eyes on each other, he knew that they were going to make it out. They had to.

He could have said Paris, the edited version of course. Most of his stories about him and Ziva were edited. They had been to hell and back. More than once. Eliza didn't need to know about that.

Those were all big moments, the biggest, but that time and every other time Eliza asked to hear the story, something always made him go back to the dress.

That scarlet red dress.

He had discovered a whole new side of her, and boy, it felt good to know just that little bit more about her. And the way that dress fit her, it was like it had been moulded just to compliment her body. His desire had spun out of control every time she wore it.

The memories they had created together, he knew, would last a lifetime. Every so often they would take Eliza bowling, and always sneak a peek at the snack bar and catch each other's eye. When Ziva taught Eliza a little piano, and she would play, they shared a grin, knowing she certainly hadn't inherited that from Tony. Last Halloween Abby had taken Eliza trick-or-treating and Ziva had been all too happy to grant him three wishes in her genie outfit.

There was still heat between them, passion, fire, but there was also friendship and trust. And of course, love. They tried to keep it professional, but love was love.

Their story was a great one, and he knew that every time he told it, he would start with the scarlet red dress.

**A/N: well…the end! I hope it was OK! And btw, Marcus, Tony's friend from the Seahawk, is a character in another story, ****A Little Birdie Told Me. ****Anyway, please review!**


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